Healing After Foot Surgery
By Morgan Kelly
Brave New Bo
Bo is one of the bravest chimps here at the sanctuary. He’s the alpha of the Cedar Tree Villa, which means he’s the big guy in charge. But with great power comes great responsibility. As the alpha, Bo has to settle arguments in his group and chimps settle arguments with a lot of screaming, wrestling and biting.
Bo always keeps his friends safe, even if it means getting hurt in the process. He recently came to someone’s defense in a fight but things got a little rough. He ended up fracturing a bone in his right foot. Bo’s been healing slowly with antibiotics and foot surgery but he’s strong!
Chimp Fight!
Some villas here at the sanctuary have what we call a peacemaker in the group. The peacemaker is a chimpanzee who prefers to resolve conflict peacefully without fighting. But the chimps in the Cedar Tree Villa are young. They are learning who they are and how to support each other. Unfortunately, this means that Bo doesn’t currently have a peacemaker to back him up.
Without a peacemaker, Bo has to take care of disputes on his own. Caregiver Supervisor Jesse Ellsworth describes him as a “chill cucumber.” He usually lets the group try to sort things out before he gets involved. If things start to get dangerous, he’ll jump in to resolve the situation. Since many of the chimps in Cedar Tree are so young, they’re full of energy. This means that they may get into physical fights a bit more than the older chimps in other villas.
Even though Bo is strong, he has weaknesses just like us. Last November, we had to amputate Bo’s big toe after he injured it in a fight. When we took X-rays during that procedure, we found that he had also fractured a metatarsal bone in his right midfoot. Recently, he also lost his little toe on his left foot in a fight with another chimp.
In the wild, chimps’ injuries sometimes heal naturally. We hoped that Bo’s fractured midfoot would heal similarly, but the bone had become infected. When the antibiotics didn’t work, we started to consider other options. Thankfully, our experts at Project Chimps are brilliant and had other options to try.
Dr. Jenny Jaffe, our Veterinary Medical Director, discovered that the bacteria in his foot was resistant to the antibiotics we were able to use. The team determined that Bo would need foot surgery to make sure he heals completely.
Foot Surgery? No Problem!
Just like humans, it can be hard for chimps to ask for help. Before the surgery, Jesse observed how Bo was doing with his injury. She says that he maintained a tough exterior despite his condition. He continued to solve problems within his group and keep the peace.
Despite everything, Bo has been handling his injury like a chimp champ. He’s careful not to worry the other chimps in his villa. He spends most of his energy on keeping his friends safe, even though he’s the one who’s injured. He has shown strong passion and leadership skills over the past few months and he’s certainly proven that he’s earned his status as the alpha!
Bo’s Foot Surgery
Dr. Jenny and the caregivers prepped Bo for surgery. Needles can be scary, so Jesse and our behaviorist Kris practiced giving him shots in positive reinforcement training leading up to surgery day. When the day finally came, Bo was ready. Zoo vet Andrew Cushing and a surgical team from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) arrived to perform the procedure on March 12th, 2025. They removed the infected part of Bo’s metatarsal bone. Metatarsal bones connect the ankle to the toes. Dr. Jenny explains that his foot should heal without the bone. He’d be in much worse condition if the foot were to remain infected.
The medical team used anesthesia to sedate Bo so he wouldn’t feel anything during the surgery. They successfully removed the infected part of the metatarsal bone without any problems. They placed antibiotic beads in his foot to prevent further infection1.
The surgery was a success! Dr. Jenny has been working with the UTK surgical team to get Bo back to health after his foot surgery. We hope that with amazing doctors like Dr. Jenny and the UTK medical team, Bo will make a swift recovery.
Doctor’s Orders
Chimps are naturally curious like us. At Project Chimps, we provide them with lots of enrichment, like cardboard, blankets, and toys. However, a chimp’s curiosity might slow down the healing process.
After removing the bone and placing the antibiotic beads, the team stitched up Bo’s wound and returned him to his enclosure. The wound should have healed in roughly two weeks. But two days after the surgery Bo became fascinated with the little stitches the doctors put in his foot. He kept picking at them until he eventually pulled them out. Unfortunately, the antibiotic beads were next to be picked out…but we can’t blame him for being curious!
Dr. Jenny says that the wound is filling up nicely already but will probably take two months to heal without the beads and the sutures. We’ll know for sure that he’s completely healed in about four months, towards the end of July. For now, though, Bo is already showing big improvements!
Back on His Feet
Since the surgery, Bo’s been putting his full weight on the injured foot while he keeps the peace in his Villa. He still picks at it from time to time, but that’s pretty normal. Even humans sometimes pick at scabs on our skin when it’s best to leave them alone.
Jesse says that Bo is back to his daily routine. He loves to take a stroll through the habitat and then return to the villa with his best friend, Lance. Then, he takes a peaceful afternoon nap.
Thankfully, Bo’s a real tough guy, so we know he’ll get through this. Our veterinarians are keeping a close eye on him and are prepared to jump in if the wound gets infected again. Overall, his foot surgery was a success, and we’re wishing him a swift recovery!
- Antibiotic beads work just like regular antibiotics you might take by mouth, like amoxicillin. Instead of having the patient swallow them, the doctor places the beads directly on the infected spot. After closing up the wound, the antibiotics absorb directly into the surrounding tissue. This makes for a quicker recovery. ↩︎
